Our First Trip
You’ll catch a cold if we stay out here.
……
Come on, Kafka… Let’s go back inside.
…I don’t wanna.
But…I don’t want you to get sick!
…This is all I have. All I have is…the hospital rooftop or the courtyard.
That’s it… It takes everything I have just to go this far.
Kafka…
But you know! When you get that surgery, you can go to so many more places!
Once you get better, you can go anywhere… We can go on fun trips and play together.
The surgery success rate isn’t 100%.
Does that mean…it might fail?
…I doesn’t matter. I can’t even get surgery until I get older.
Kafka…
I’m so jealous of you,
…Kafka. Let’s go on a trip after the rain stops. Together.
You want me to go with you?
Yeah. Just the two of us.
…
Hm?
Don’t let go of my hand, okay? Tell me you won’t let go…
I won’t.
I mean it. Even when… Even when they do my surgery…
I won’t ever let go. Never ever.
Promise?
I promise!
…I still remember that day.
Surgery’s done
WHAT?!
YOUR SURGERY? IT’S DONE?? WHAT???
Sorry, everything happened so suddenly I didn’t have time to tell you
How did it go?
Kafka?
Are you okay?
HELLO?
He’s not responding…
I guess I can assume that the surgery went well if Kafka himself is letting me know.
(But I can’t be sure until I see him in person!)
Kaf—
DON’T MOVE!!!! Stop right there!
Uwaa?!
You mustn’t enter this room. It is said that many unsolved cases may or may not be the unfortunate result of overlooking evidence from the initial investigation.
(Wait, it’s just Kafka’s butler…)
Sakujiro-san? What do you mean…? It’s just Kafka’s hospital room…
Did something happen to Kafka…?!
That is currently under investigation. I am terribly sorry, but I would prefer you stay there for the time being.
Uh… Okay?
I’m afraid I have no choice. Much like Icarus flying too close to the sun, we must not rely on artificial intelligence in excess, lest we risk the destruction of the human race. I did not want to stoop to this level, however…
Is that another one of your weird gadgets?
Indubitably! This is the 777th gadget passed down through the Oguro family’s lineage of butlers.
…This is precisely what we need. The Young Master Kafka scent detector, Sniffy-Licky-Puppy!
It is a robot dog that keeps daily records of Young Master Kafka’s scent and uses the data to analyze the changes in his blood components to offer insight on what he’s been doing, what he’s been eating, and even what he’s been hiding from us.
Does it do the…licky thing too?
It does not do the licky thing. That is my job, at least in my heart.
This will conduct the search for us. Click.
Hm, it has picked something up! Young Master Kafka rose up out of his bed 36 minutes and 31 seconds ago and promptly changed out of his pajamas into day clothes.
Yeah, I can see his pajamas on the floor over here!
It seems as though he proceeded to turn around and consume one piece of chewing gum. Indeed, the bottle seems to be missing one piece compared to when I checked this morning.
You can figure out that one’s missing just by the weight? Wow…
(It’s kind of crazy how much he knows about Kafka…)
Young Master Kafka then put his hand on the door, and glanced right, left, and right once again out into the hallway to check for passersby.
Ahh, this is the exact method I taught him for crossing the street when he was a young boy.
So Kafka was checking to make sure nobody would catch him leaving…?
According to Sniffy-Licky-Puppy, Young Master Kafka’s emotions at the time were half excitement and half nervousness!
And at last, he takes a step out of his hospital room, starting with his right foot…!
*gulp…*
……
But where did he go…?
That I do not know. Regrettably, Sniffy-Licky-Puppy cannot tell us that much.
What? No…! It told us everything except the most important part?!
However, we may safely assume that the best course of action is to find Young Master Kafka and bring him back posthaste.
But we don’t know where he went… He shouldn’t be walking around outside right after having surgery…
…Hm?
He told me that they finished his surgery.
…Yes, that is true.
He left this letter, no…this tape for you.
A cassette tape? And you’re sure this is Kafka’s?
Yes, it was left under his sheets.
Oh, the date written on it…
(It’s from 10 years ago, so it must be…)
Let’s go on a trip after the rain stops. Together.
You want me to go with you?
Yeah. Just the two of us.
It’s from back then…